Nvidia’s China Chip Sale Deal Could Be Expanded to Other Companies: White House
Udumbara
The deals that allows Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to sell to China certain advanced chips specifically designed to adhere to export restrictions to the communist nation—while paying a cut to the U.S. government—could be expanded to other companies, the White House said on Tuesday.
Speaking in a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It stands with these two companies, perhaps it could expand in the future to other companies. I think it’s a creative idea and solution.”
On Monday, Trump said he initially asked for 20 percent when Nvidia sought permission to sell to China its H20 chip—which he described as “an essentially old chip”—and the company’s CEO Jensen Huang negotiated the rate down to 15 percent.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick previously called the H20 Nvidia’s “fourth-best” chip.
The president has also suggested that he could allow Nvidia to export to China another downgraded version of its new flagship AI chip, the Blackwell, that’s 30 percent to 50 percent less powerful.
“I think [Huang is] coming to see me again about that, but that will be an unenhanced version of the big one,” Trump told reporters.
The Trump administration initially banned the export of AI chips, including AMD’s MI308 and Nvidia’s H20. The H20 is a less powerful version of its H100 chip and was created specifically for the Chinese market to comply with Biden administration export restrictions.
National Security Questions
Trump’s new approach of accepting payment for export licenses in restricted sectors has raised national security concerns and questions over the legality of such deals.John Moolenaar (R-Mich.), chair of the House Select Committee on China, said there are “questions about the legal basis for doing so.”
“Export controls are a frontline defense in protecting our national security, and we should not set a precedent that incentivizes the government to grant licenses to sell China technology that will enhance its AI capabilities,” he said in a statement.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), ranking member of the same committee, said the U.S. export control regime “must be based on genuine security considerations, not creative taxation schemes disguised as national security policy.”
He said he would look into the legal basis of the policy and demand full transparency from the administration.
Derek Scissors, senior fellow and China expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, equated the fee to an export tax, which would be “unconstitutional.”
Trade lawyer Jeremy Iloulian said it is hard to tell if the 15 percent cut would be considered an “export tax” or some other form of payment without knowing more about the agreement.
The U.S. Constitution prohibits Congress from levying taxes and duties on articles exported from any U.S. state.
The Epoch Times reached out to the White House for comment.
